Made my way up to Hollywood Beach on Monday, between the middle and south end of it. Didn't see anyone else in a thong, so I opted for more covering at first... but then got over it and pulled those off. First time of the year - it was pretty great. Wasn't there too long, but as I was leaving, there *might* have been another thong towards the middle of the beach, but it was pretty far away and I'm not sure. The new beach house looks great, and is sorely needed.

Made my way out on Wednesday again, set up more towards the middle this time. @maxexposure - It was fairly populated for a weekday this early in the year, but the weather has been awfully nice for it. Maybe the water will actually get warm enough to swim this year. The old restrooms are still there, as they haven't finished the new beachhouse yet. I didn't see an outside shower, but the area is fenced off and I couldn't see details.

I've only been there once this Spring and it was a chilly day; only stayed about half an hour.

If history says anything about how this year will go, I have worn a g-string at Osterman Beach. I've done some limited walking around (to water, the trash can, etc.). However, when I go to the restroom or walk the water line through the "family area" toward the northwest end of the beach I'll slip on a bikini. I have worn some pretty skimpy bikinis without any problems while taking a walk. I've also seen some topless ladies there.

See through thongs would be pushing it, and I'd hate to see you ruin a good thing by doing so.

Like I said, I've worn a g-string there; I just stay away from people with kids. Overall, however, the scene is very tolerant. Seems to be a lot of Europeans there. Read some of the older posts. They are building a new beach house there, so it may be interesting to see how that affects the swimwear scene with construction guys around.

I would echo Max's comments and say that on beaches that are not nude beaches, semi transparent see through thongs are not appropriate. You don't want the news papers to say a thonger was arrested for indecent exposure because others will takes that as a message that thongs are not OK, and then call the cops on every thonger they see.A better way to push the limits is by how often you thong, how confidently you thong and how many places you thong.

Wear a thong that will not get you in trouble. One that you have the confidence to were in front of the police or a judge.

Just to expand on what I said earlier...I like to "push the limits" too. But, at leastfor the Chicago area, the reasonable limit would be an opaque solid color g-string.I like wearing red, and a narrow cut but relaxed yet clingy fit, and that prettymuch leaves little to the imagination (see some of my previous posts). I haveworn some tightly woven mesh suits but always in a busy print that will highlydisguise the degree of what can be seen, even when wet; you wouldn't knowit was mesh unless you set up right next to me. Yes, I absolutely love theextra-bare feeling of the sun and wind such a suit gives, but I've prettymuch resolved to wearing that type of suit on a private balcony here or atMiami's South Beach or Hawaii.

As you might guess, the beach is more populated on a weekend than on a weekday. It's beenmy experience that the serious sunbathers, which would include people wearing minimalswimwear, and sometimes topless women, tend to start showing up in late morning, sayfrom 10am onward. Ergo, just by virtue of greater numbers of people you are more likelyto see a thonger later in the morning or afternoon on a weekend. Of course there are ex-ceptions.

I've just come back from the beach. The weather was just perfect. I came there around the noon and there was already quite a lot of people even though it was a middle of the week.I laid out my towel in the middle of the beach - second watch tower from the pier. Even though that part of the beach today was least crowded, apart from me, there were at least three men and one women wearing thongs. Actually, one of the guys wore a very tiny suit with string straps and little triangle thong back that looked almost like a g-string. Another one wore a typical g-string with see-through (mesh?) pouch - he was brave enough to go like that to the water. Generally, I am quite impressed by the people who don't try to hide what they are wearing when going to water. It is very rare, though. Most guys put some less revealing swimsuits over their thongs going for a swim in the lake, and I don't quite get it... I am not sure if wearing a suit that leaves so little to the imagination is a good idea, though. I wouldn't like to loose the only place in Chicago where I can wear my skimpy thong swimsuit so freely because of some complaints (there were two police patrol cars near the bathrooms today...)

Anyway, it was a great day on the beach. I hope many more to come this summer.

Thanks for the report. Sound like a good start. The last time I wentto Osterman I set up near the water line in front of the life guard trailer.I was wearing a g-string. There was another guy set up about 100feet further inland from me wearing a little thong. He was up andwalking about quite a bit. A Chicago Police car had pulled up besidethe life guard trailer and sat there for some time. They could easilysee him and probably me and they never got out of their car.

I think this year I'm going to try to set up no further southeastthan the second life guard tower from the pier (if they're placingthem in the same locations as last year) and infiltrate furthernorthwest when possible.

I don't put on anything additional when taking a dip in the water.What's the point? I think this year I'm going to walk at least aportion of the water line just wearing my g-string or minimalthong,hopefully making it all the way down to the pier. If Itake a walk further to the northwest through areas with kidsI've put on a skimpy bikini that shows quite a bit of cheek(about 60% coverage) and will probably continue to do that;maybe even go to something with about 40% coverage.I've never got any negative comments except some hootsfrom some hispanic guys walking through the beach.

Yeah, I wish that guy wouldn't wear the mesh suit. If you're"that guy" reading this board, knock it off! Like abadonmi(and JM_Runs) has said, you jeopardize a very open placeto wear our thongs/g-strings.

I can't wait to get out there! In the meantime I'm workingon my tan at home so I'll have a good color to show off atthe beach. :-)

The weather forecast for next Saturday the 26th looks good - shall we try and get a 'Thong and G-string wearers day' at Osterman beach ? I am going to try and get down there today and maybe see were a good place to meet would be - any suggestions as its been a couple of years since i have been down there. IT would be great to get 20 gals and guys together for a Saturday - meet some new people and make some new friends.

Hope to see you there and lets not over do it however and get into trouble.

I was there last thursday morning for an hour and a half or so. Wore my Joe Snyder Maroon thong. Weather was perfect and saw 1 other guy wearing a thong. I got a little too tanned but I'll be going back soon whenever I get a chance.

Thanks for the updates at Hollywood. I'm in the burbs, and the trek is pretty extreme for no thongers. I hope to get there soon. By the way, I would be great to say a quick, Hi, if you're there, Enjoy the sun!

I was at Osterman last Friday (7/16/2010) and, once again, saw about five other guys in thongs/g-strings.

I saw several ladies with their suits pulled up like thongs, but, alas, no true thongs. Some of the suit-minimal guys were about in front of the new beach house, which is good for getting a little more into the general beach population.

I saw a woman way up in the northwest corner of the beach near the apartment buildings and away from the water line (but way in the middle of the "family" area) in a regular bikini and sunbathing topless. (I have seenthis in this area of the beach before). She was with a friend who was wearing a bikini but not topless. Quite a few women wearing bikinis with skimpy bottoms.

Went to Osterman for a 3rd time this summer, hopefully 1 more before all is said and done. Went on Sunday and it was a bit more crowded that I am used to. Saw about 5 other folks in thongs besides me and layed out and worked on my best tan yet.

Went to the beach yesterday afternoon. Got there around 1. Brought a thong and a small speedo, wasn't going to thong if i didn't see anyone else. Walked down the length of the beach and saw five, maybe six thongs on both girls and guys. That was enough for me. Walked over to the new club house/bathroom building, (it's really nice) and changed into my little dark blue thong. Picked a spot on the east end of the beach maybe 100 feet from another thonger in a black thong with an incredible tan!. The closest person was about 50 feet to me, I stripped off my shorts and laid down. Within 15 minutes two girls and a guy set up not five feet from my towel. Not that i minded, just weird they went so close to me. I was laying on my stomach when they walked up so they were not surprised to find what i was wearing after they set up and i rolled over. They didn't say a word to me and brought a radio so i had something to listen to.

I wasn't there long, maybe an hour and a half or so. It was really hot. Didn't hear one negative comment from my close neighbors or anyone else that walked by.

Great day to thong at Osterman today. Saw about 6-7 others thonging in the nice warm sun under a cool breeze. Nice to see the trend continuing this summer. If anyone has doubts of where to thong in Chicago this is the place to be.

I have noticed a lot more people wearing thongs at Foster Beach this summer – especially women. With this in mind, I decided to give it a try. Each of the past two weekends I spent a couple of hours there wearing nothing but a g-string. I was at the middle of the beach near the water, just far enough north of the kid’s area. I didn’t get any negative comments or strange looks. Maybe thongs are becoming common enough that most people are used to seeing them?

Topless women still make Osterman my preferred beach but it is nice to know there are other options.

In my previous post I meant to mention that the last time I went to Osterman Beach that when I walked through Foster Avenue Beach en route to Osterman (I parked at Foster Avenue) I saw a couple of women wearing thongs at the north end of Foster Beach. I was thinking the same thing...that I would try wearing a thong, or perhaps a g-string, at Foster Beach. Didn't do it last time because as I was transiting Foster I saw a huge bunch of noisy kids arriving at the north end of the beach and didn't want to deal with the noise. The other agenda that I have is to lay out more mid-beach, or even in the north half, of Osterman beach.

JayByrd: Your wife should be able to lay out topless at Osterman ok if she keeps it low-key, especially toward the southeast half.

my wife just tanned (on her back and front), as well as sat up and talked with me. She was clearly exposed but....we did not walk around or go in the water (it was too cold when we were there). I would imagine, based on my gut instinct, that she would have been fine if she did

Rode my bike up to hollywood beach for a bit earlier. Laid for all of 10 minutes, but I kept being bitten by sand flies. There was a beach full of people who seemed to be doing fine though - it seems they all swarmed to me. The strange thing about the new beach house - I would typically opt for the middle area of the beach, but now its become very front-and-center, with families walking right by. Don't know quite where I prefer on the beach at this point. It was an awfully nice day for the beach, but the flies cut it too short.

ChiTownR:The last time I was at Osterman Beach I set up about 10 feet from the water line and about half-way between the old restrooms and the new beach house. There were two separate guys in thongs/g-strings that set up just a little further north of me which would put them pretty much in front of the beach house. I don't think either had any problems, and they both went in the water at least once. In years past I've had no problems setting up mid-beach during the week. I've seen women wearing thongs and even some toplessness further northwest up the beach.

At the northwest end of the beach the shoreline arcs out to a small point where there's a large pile of boulders. North of the boulders there's a very short stretch of beach of maybe 30-40 feet. Last summer I saw a guy wearing a thong at that short stretch. Only saw him once. I've been tempted to set up there myself. Although the northwest end has heavy family use, that short north stretch never has any kids there.

All in all, the crowd at Osterman is pretty thong tolerant, so I'd say go for it, especially on a week day.

Regarding the biting flies. If the sand isn't blowing around alot I like to put on a thick layer of olive oil. The flies don't seem to like to land on the oil so they stay off of me. One could also probably achieve the same result with a thick application of sunscreen oil.

we have been going to chicago area beaches for over 35 years and unfortunately the biting flies seem to bite thru any repellent. we have talked to long time fisherman and beach goers no one has an answer. the flies just ruin a perfectly good day.

MAX: :RE: Oak st & North avenue. Absolutely nothing. Zip. I jog 4-5 times per week from Oak St to Belmont and back along the lakefront. It has been the most disappointing summer that I can ever recall. I have seen no more than a half dozen women in thongs the entire summer. Very sad. You would think that with as many tourists that stay in the Near North area of Chicago and frequent Oak St that there would be a few just on the law of averages. Not this summer. A far cry from 8-10 years ago when you would find a half dozen women on a typical day. Even the last of the diehards have seemingly packed up and gone elsewhere. The only area that has seen a little activity is the stretch between Diversey & Belmont along the rocks. I do know of a couple of women who mentioned they now occasionally head up there. as well as a woman who looks somewhat like a fitness/ bodybuilder type, very attractive blonde, deeply tanned, usually wearing a Brazilian type G String, always accompanied by her husband. a rather muscular African American. They used to frequent Oak St . always putting on a bit of a show.They would set up way away from everyone else on the sand and he would slowly oil her up in full view of everyone. always checking around to see just who was watching. Apparently , they have now opted for the privacy of the Belmont rocks. As you mentioned ,one is probably better off heading up to Osterman. Peace . Out

I made it out to the beach yesterday. It was a bit overcast, but that's what made it fairly comfortable. The beach crowd was not too busy either. I setup more toward the south end of the beach, about 100 feet away from the water. Not too many other people around that area... couldn't figure out why till I started to get bitten by the flies. I've never gotten bitten by flies before, but damn do they hurt. I wore a royal blue poser thong from muscleskins. There was a thonger south of the concession stand when I got there around 2pm, but he packed up and left shortly after I got there. Another thonger was in the southern part of the beach. He did get up and go into the water without a cover up, but later in the day put a cover up on and played frisbee. There was one other thonger that showed up around 5pm and set up near the wall to the south. He was actually wearing a rio cut bikini that he pulled up into a thong. The last thong sighting I saw was a man in a dark color gstring in the middle of the beach, fairly close to the water line. Besides the biting flies, I had a great day out at the beach!

Heading to Chicago the end of the month and def. want to head up to Hollywood beach. What would be the directions if coming from Mag. Mile Hotel? Red line? No car that weekend. What area of the beach is the best for laying out in a g-string?

@hdmichael: The easiest way to get to the beach from Downtown is by subway Red Line (direction: Howard) - you get off at Bryn Mawr station and later you have a short walk to the beach along Bryn Mawr avenue. Alternatively, you can take one of the express buses (either 146 or 147) heading north from State St (parallel to Michigan Ave). You get off at the intersection of W Bryn Mawr Ave and N Sheridan Rd (look this up on google maps to get a better idea) next to a very characteristic multistory condo building painted pink. The walk to the beach is even shorter. I think taking a bus will get you there even faster than by Red Line train. Red Line trains are rather slow... You can plan your trip by using CTA website: www.yourcta.com

I wish I could post some useful links that work to help you better, but it is not possible in this forum.

Got a question for the Chicago folk here. With the US Labor Day holiday coming up, the missus and I are thinking of trying someplace new. If you had a choice of one place for holiday weekend beach thonging (and most likely topless for the missus) would you do Osterman or Zion state park?

I'm cross-posting this to both threads becaused i don't want to miss any potential answers. I hope I'm not breaking any protocol here.

JayByrd,It depends on the atmosphere you're looking for. I like Illinois Beach State Park because it's quieter and you can walk most the beach in a g-string in peace and not be concerned about the Rangers. I usually walk thefrom the trail exit to the dead river on the beach in a g-string, and the Rangers won't hassle you. Park in the Nature Center lot and take the Beach Trail. When you come out onto the beach, head south (i.e. right) and go toward the large tree - should start seeing thongs. The beach patrons usually don't have issues with topless, but "the missus" will need to roll over or cover up if the rangers are going by (usually just a few times a day). Also, just to be safe, use discretion around kids/families.

I imagine that Chicago Beaches will be a little more crowded and "active".

Please cutback on starting new threads and try to post messages as a reply to existing threads.
If you want to cut and paste from your word processor do not do it directly. First paste it into notepad or other basic ascii editor so that the formatting codes are removed, then cut again. This will give you clean posts.